Ho Chi Minh City plans to clear commercial parking lots that affect the city's traffic by the Lunar New Year festival in late January, starting with backpackers' streets in District 1.

The decision was made after many of the parking lots were found to be encroaching onto sidewalks and roadways, worsening traffic congestion in the city, news website VnExpress reported.

District governments have been asked to check parking lots in their area and name the violating ones.

Those in the downtown will be cleared first, before all lots in the city are dealt with in time for the country's biggest holiday.

There are 33 streets with licensed parking lots in District 1. But the city Transport Department said in a statement earlier that the licensing is no longer suitable to current traffic situations, and some of those parking lots need to be cleared.